Search Results for -Product Type: Toys Age: Early Elementary School Years Categories: Games Subcategories: Matching and Memory

2000 Awards

Touch N Play Lotto(Guidecraft $32 Score:) SNAP INFO: Four wooden playing boards and matching Lotto pieces have raised textured shapes for sensory feedback through the fingertips. This is an excellent choice for children with visual disabilities. (800) 544-6526.

Each playing board is a different store. Dealer draws a picture tile and names object; player who has the store for that item calls out name of store. Winner is first to match and fill card pictures. Also new, Life on Earth Matching Game ($14.99 ), a concentration-style matching game with pleasing images of birds, snakes, kangaroos, and other earthly creatures. Also top rated, Candy Matching ($12.95 ) with yummy-looking candies to match. All 5 & up. (212) 222-0823.

Age: Early School Years.
Award Year: 2006.
Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

eeBoo Paper Doll Game(eeBoo $14.95 Score:) Our testers really loved this game. Four cardboard adorable multicultural paper dolls, created by illustrator, Lizzy Rockwell, come ready to be dressed. Hit the spinner and players take turns pulling shoes, hats, tops, bottoms, and other parts to make a complete outfit. Winner is first to dress her 10 ¾” doll. For 2-5 players. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Each player gets playing pieces that are the colors of the rainbow. A card is drawn that shows the colors in different order. Players race to stack their colors to match the rainbow card. This is a game that calls for visual memory, sequencing and speed, not to mention dexterity. They say 3 & up, we think this would be challenging but fun for older 4’s-7.
The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years.
Award Year: 2009.
Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Maask(Blue Orange Games $19.95 Score:) Here is an unusual format for a concentration game. A wooden crown has hidden “jewels” that players try to collect. To do so they must unmask the covers on the jewels and find gems to match the dice they throw. Winner is the one with the most jewels. From the maker of Platinum Award ‘03 winner Gobblet Junior. A memory game for 6 & up. (415) 572-3885

Spinnerific Bye-Bye Balloons & Animal Pairs Games(International Playthings $7.99 Score:) Here is a new spin on concentration. Quick and easy to learn, each game comes with a deck of cards and a domed spinner. Push the dome and it tells what color balloon you must find. In Animal Pairs the spinner will tell you to turn 2, 3, or 4 cards over and find matching animals. Our four-year-old tester loved beating us every time, and wanted to play again and again . . . the best sign of success. 3–5. (800) 445-8347.

Diggity Dog(International Playthings $19.99 Score:) Players must listen to the number of times the big electronic dog barks and then move their little dog that many spaces. When you land on that space, your magnetized dog picks up a bone. If it matches your dog, you keep the bone in your dog house. Winner is the one with the most bones, of course. A game of chance with listening and simple counting. 3 & up. 2–4 players. 4 & up.

Once Upon a Time Matching Game(eeBoo $12.95 Score:) The matching cards are all fairy-tale related but not tied to a license (a plus to our testing family). The cards "are substantial" and will hold up to more wear and tear. I Never Forget A Face Memory Game ($12.95)—same idea (less pink). Our almost-five-year-old tester proclaimed, "this is the best memory game ever" (after he repeatedly beat his grandmother). Our testers were split on the new Tea Party Game ($15). One family loved the big playing pieces and the tablecloth that add to the pretend part of this simple luck-of-the draw game. Another family preferred the game play of the Once Upon a Time game above. Graphics are beautiful. For a less pink version, the Picnic Game ($15) uses the same idea with a few ants thrown into the mix!

Bendomino(Blue Orange Games $15.95 Score:) Truly a classic with a new twist. These curved dominoes are played as a traditional matching game, but the curves make it just a little trickier. Our kid testers thought the play pieces were fun to play with! We discovered that some adults use the "blank" tile as a wild card, while others require the blank to be placed against another blank. Who knew there could be such controversy in domino land? 5 & up.

I Spy 3D(Briarpatch $24.95 Score:) Put the playing cards out, put on the 3-D glasses, and you are ready to play I Spy. A reader reads one of the riddle cards and players search for the objects in the riddles. The images are really small (you kids won’t have a problem, but you might!) They say 3 & up. We think given the size and number of the objects, this will be a better choice for 5s & up. Of course we really recommend bringing home Jean Marzollo's wonderful I Spy books!